Report from testing Equinoxes in Hluk and on Proboštské Lakes

As you may have noticed, the "Test Drive an Equinox" event has been running every weekend for a couple of weeks now. For those who didn't make it to the event, or it was too far for them, we would like to bring you a short report and also a video, at least from the last event on Proboštské jezere.

We managed to organize the events in completely different places. While the soil at Hluk was highly mineralized with a high proportion of iron oxide, the "beach" at Proboštské Lakes is completely different. There is a certain amount of iron oxide, but otherwise the soil conditions are definitely more favourable. In the table you will also find a special test of the Prague grosz in the forest near Stará Boleslav. There, it is a bit of a joke. Since the depth of the Prague grosz at the Jílové polygon is sometimes questioned, we wanted to do the test somewhere else. The questioning is probably directed against LP, but these people don't realize that we didn't put the grosz there, Dan and Pavel put it there and it was originally a target for testing pulse detectors. On the polygon in Jílové it is at 48 cm, but you can get deeper under even more favorable conditions and sharper settings (see table).

Explanation of the table - all targets were placed at such depths that a searcher with Equinox would be able to pick them up from a walking position during standard movement. The polygons were thus designed as "walk-through". It wasn't a question of who could "extort" what above the marked spot. In the PG test in the woods near Boleslav, we were concerned with the maximum range test. The range is described here from-to depending on the program used and the level of sensitivity.

Polygon Noise

All targets were hit from the side so that the effect of a freshly dug hole could not occur.

After the targets were placed, the trench was backfilled to allow for good walking. Although the targets were positioned so that the Equinox would take them with a walk, they were too deep for most detectors in these soil conditions. In the tests, the Equinox 800 and CTX 3030 came out best.

Polygon Proboštská jezera

All targets were located in a polygon on the beach. The section walked was completely cleared of other targets beforehand.

There were over thirty Minelab Equinox owners at Probosht Lakes.

Video

We shot a video of the ranges at the polygon. The video shows both a demonstration of the range of the basic coil and the smaller 6", plus a bit of that detector work in the water. All of the targets were positioned so that the Equinox would be able to take them as the seeker passed through the polygon.

Recommended settings Minelab Equinox by PilotK, Haban and Elmara

However, the whole TEST DRIVE AN EQUINOX event was organized primarily to help owners of Minelab Equinox 800 and 600 detectors become more familiar with the settings of their detectors and simply be able to get the most out of them. I think that especially at Probošt'ák it was really successful, as there it could literally be called as a kind of Equinox club meeting. PilotK, Haban, Jaccob and I worked in such setups there. Although we all walk Equinox in similar ways, they are not the same setups. Therefore, we will list the individual recommended setups here.

Equinox 800 by Elmary

I differentiate sites by the amount of targets (both paint and iron waste) and the amount of mineralization. In our setting, it's usually the case that forest means less mineralization and fewer targets, and field means more mineralization and more targets. Of course this is only general and does not always apply.

I use the "2 hole modes" when possible. Field mode when there are fewer targets, and park mode when there are more targets (let's say if I swing the probe andthere are 5 or more targets on a180° arc, I take that as the site with more targets). There are sites with a lot of iron oxide etc where using the twin modes can be annoying. If that's the case, and I'm just going to clear my head, I'll happily turn on the single modes using the same key.

Again, recovery speed depends on the number of targets. While you can walk nicely in a clean forest on 3, a messy location needs a higher setting. Equinox allows you to set up to 8, in extreme cases. In most cases, however, I set 4 or 5. Your recovery speed is also related to your movement. That's where searchers make the most common mistake. The movement should be nice and plunky and should describe at least some 120°C, the ideal is of course 180°C, but that probably won't last long. Anyway, the worst variant is short jerky movements, when the seeker is thrashing around like a wounded sperm whale... this really leads nowhere. We're going to make another special video on this subject.

Sensitivity is essential for range, but the detector should remain reasonably still. The big advantage of EQ is that the detector doesn't suffer from ringing. I set almost everywhere at 20 to 22. Rushing to a higher setting only makes sense when tracking.

Iron Bias is a feature that is key to getting the most out of the detector. I set it between 0 and 2. Higher settings can negatively affect the separation properties of the detector. Since I almost without exception go primarily to fields full of iron, I simply never go higher. In the woods it's always 0, nothing to worry about there.

Discrimination, as always, applies the less the better. So in most places I only have numbers from -9 to -5 closed or I walk in All Metal. If the field is full of coke, I choose to discriminate up to +1. Obviously, anyone can write me on this, then I can cross very small chains. That's true, but the field is not a beach and gold chains in fields are damned scarce. But if there are cokes, I'm happy to spare them.

I do soil effect tuning almost everywhere by hand. The exception is heavily mineralized sites. There I choose automatic. It's not that it can't be detuned, but we have found empirically in testing that in such places, automatic is simply better. We showed it quite nicely during testing in Hluk.

Audio response, field only in Multitone. I've been a Minelab guy for many years so I can't imagine any other answer. But in the woods I am able to use 2 or 1 tone. Unless there are very few targets.

Equinox 800 by Haban

Field: I mostly go for Park 2 and that's only out of laziness to bend over for pinheads, I also give Park 1 but that's really rare. I always use it in multifrequency because the single frequency tests didn't really work for me. Sensitivity, when I can, is 22. I've been going in Allmetal lately. Auto-tuning interference, but I pull them down closer to zero unless they're jammed. I manually detune the ground semi-automatically. Volume color at will and iron volume about 3-4, just to hear it and test for possible iron by pressing on the probe, peppering it with a leg flip or reversing maneuver. I don't care about the Threshold, it's just there in the background, in allmetal it doesn't matter. I use multiton on principle. Tone break, I usually put the iron up to 1 if there are cokes in the field, otherwise I put it at 0. I alternate the speed between 4-5 and the iron bias at 1 .

Les: I actually go through the woods set up the same as the field, in Allmetal, but I pull the Iron Bias down to 0 and the velocity down to 3 sometimes. Sensitivity can usually be set to 23 in the forest.

Equinox by Pilot

Field setup: lots of targets, lots of waste, coke, higher mineralization, clipped nails.

Park1, iron closed from -9 to -5, multitone, multifrequency, response speed at 5, Fe Bias 2, ground manually, threshold 8, sensitivity 21

Field settings: less waste, no coke and slag, lower mineralization

Field2, iron closed from -9 to -5, multitone, multifrequency, response speed at 4, Fe Bias 1, ground manually, threshold 8, sensitivity 22

Inspiration from UK

If you like to test and try something new, we've prepared a little treat for you at the end of this article. The settings shown are from Derek Mc Lennan. They are so UK settings. They are very strange from my point of view, but I haven't had time to test them in detail yet. So setting GB to 0 in particular is something that could probably be tested in slightly mineralised soils. But on the other hand, setting Iron Bias to 4 or more doesn't work for me at all. Anyway, this Scottish guy who Pilot and I know personally has setacramental results and when he writes something it's good to look at it. Plus, he was a tester on the final Equinox.

Equinox 800 - Derek Mc Lennan

The following programs are optimised for UK and hopefully European conditions where the soil can be heavily contaminated iron and coke, saline, mineralised, with remnants of ancient settlement, or may be affected by other environmental factors. However, the programs may work equally well in similar environments when looking outside the UK and Europe - try it and see.

Tommy Gun
Workingmode:Field 1
Ground Balance: 0
Discrimination (All-Metal) (Horseshoe): On
Frequency: Multi
Volume Adjustment (Volume):20+ (depending on your hearing)
Tone Adjustment (Tone Volume): T1=4, T2=25
Sensitivity (Sensitivity): 22+/- (depending on your environment)
Recovery Speed (Recovery Speed): 6+
Iron Bias: 3-5 (average 4 and fine tune according to location)
Target Tone Response (Target Tones): 2
Highest Tone (Tone Pitch): T1=1, T2=20
Threshold Level (Threshold Tone): 8-12 (depending on your hearing)
Threshold Pitch: 1
Tone Break: T1=2

Tommy Gun 2
Operating Mode: Field 1
Ground Balance (Ground Balance): 0
Discrimination (All-Metal) (Horseshoe): On
Frequency: Multi
Volume Adjustment (Volume):20+ (depending on your hearing)
Tone Adjustment (Tone Volume): T1=0, T2=25
Sensitivity (Sensitivity): 16-20+ (depending on your environment)
Recovery Speed (Recovery Speed): 6+
Iron Bias: 3-5 (Average 4 and tune according to location for quieter operation)
Target Response (Target Tones): 2
Highest Tone (Tone Pitch): T1=1, T2=20
Threshold Tone (Threshold Level): 0-8 (Depends if you want complete silence or not)
Threshold Pitch: 1
Tone Break: T1=2

Toad
Operating Mode: Field 1
Ground Balance: 0
Discrimination (All-Metal) (Horseshoe): On
Frequency: Multi
Volume Adjustment (Volume): 20+ (depending on your hearing)
Tone Adjustment (Tone Volume): T1=3, T2=25, T3=15, T4=12, T5=8
Sensitivity (Sensitivity): 22+/- (depending on your environment)
Recovery Speed: 6+
Iron Bias: 3-5 (average 4 and fine tune depending on location)
Target Response (Target Tones): 5
Highest Tone (Tone Pitch): T1=25, T2=4, T3=6, T4=12, T5=18
Threshold Level: 8-12 (depending on your hearing)
Threshold Pitch: 1
Tone Break: T1=4, T2=20, T3=26, T4=34

Toad 2
Operating Mode: Field 1
Ground Balance (Ground Balance): 0
Discrimination (All-Metal) (Horseshoe): On
Frequency: Multi
Volume Adjustment (Volume): 20+ (depending on your hearing)
Tone Adjustment (Tone Volume): T1=0, T2=25, T3=15, T4=8, T5=4
Sensitivity (Sensitivity): 16-20+ (depending on your environment)
Recovery Speed: 6+
Iron Bias: 3-5 (average 4 and tune according to location for quieter operation)
Target Response (Target Tones): 5
Highest Tone (Tone Pitch): T1=25, T2=4, T3=6, T4=12, T5=18
Threshold Levell: 0-8 (depending on whether you want complete silence or not)
Threshold Intensity (Threshold Pitch): 1
Tone Break: T1=4, T2=20, T3=26, T4=34

Electrify
Operating Mode: Field 1
Ground Balance (Ground Balance): 0
Discrimination (All-Metal) (Horseshoe): On
Frequency: Multi
Volume Adjustment (Volume): 20+ (depending on your hearing)
Tone Adjustment (Tone Volume): T1=3, T2=25, T3=15, T4=4, T5=8
Sensitivity (Sensitivity): 16-20+ (depending on your environment & EMI)
Recovery Speed: 6+
Iron Bias: 3-5 (average 4 & fine tune depending on location)
Target Response (Target Tones): 5
Highest Tone (Tone Pitch): T1=25, T2=4, T3=6, T4=20, T5=15
Threshold Levell: 8-12 (depending on your hearing)
Threshold Intensity (Threshold Pitch): 1
Tone Break: T1=4, T2=20, T3=25, T4=32

Electrify 2
Operating Mode: Field 1
Ground Balance (Ground Balance): 0
Discrimination (All-Metal) (Horseshoe): On
Frequency: Multi
Volume Adjustment (Volume): 20+ (depending on your hearing)
Tone Adjustment (Tone Volume): T1=0, T2=25, T3=15, T4=4, T5=8
Sensitivity (Sensitivity): 16-20+ (depending on your environment & EMI)
Recovery Speed: 6+
Iron Bias: 3-5 (average 4 & tune according to location for quieter operation)
Target Response (Target Tones): 5
Highest Tone (Tone Pitch): T1=25, T2=4, T3=6, T4=20, T5=15
Threshold Levell: 0-8 (depending on your hearing, depending on whether you want complete silence or not)
Threshold Intensity (Treshold Pitch): 1
Tone Break: T1=4, T2=20, T3=25, T4=32

Digger
Operating Mode: Field 1
Ground Balance (Ground Balance): 0
Discrimination (All-Metal) (Horseshoe): On
Frequency: Multi
Volume (Volume): 20+ (depending on your hearing)
Tone (Tone Volume): T1=4, T2=25
Sensitivity (Sensitivity): 22+ (depending on your environment)
Recovery Speed (Recovery Speed): 1-4
Iron Bias: 0-4 (Depends on location and presence of iron)
Target Tone Response: 2
Highest Tone (Tone Pitch): T1=1, T2=20
Threshold Levell: 8-12 (depending on your hearing)
Threshold Intensity (Treshold Pitch): 1
Tone Break: T1=2

Digger 2
Operating Mode: Field 1
Ground Balance: 0
All-Iron (All-Metal) (Horseshoe): On
Frequency: Multi
Volume (Volume): 20+ (depending on your hearing)
Tone (Tone Volume): T1=0, T2=25
Sensitivity (Sensitivity): 22+ (depending on your environment)
Recovery Speed (Recovery Speed): 1-4
Iron Bias: 0-4 (depending on location and presence of iron)
Target Response (Target Tones): 2
Highest Tone (Tone Pitch): T1=1, T2=20
Treshold Levell: 8-12 (depending on your hearing)
Treshold Intensity (Treshold Pitch): 1
Tone Break: T1=2

Bullseye
Operating Mode: Field 1
Ground Balance (Ground Balance): 0
Discrimination (All-Metal) (Horseshoe): On
Frequency: Multi
Volume Adjustment (Volume): 20+ (depending on your hearing)
Tone Adjustment (Tone Volume): T1=3, T2=25, T3=15, T4=15, T5=8
Sensitivity (Sensitivity): 22+/- (depending on your environment)
Recovery Speed: 1-4
Iron Bias: 0-4+ (depending on location and presence of iron)
Target Response (Target Tones): 5
Highest Tone (Tone Pitch): T1=25, T2=4, T3=6, T4=8, T5=15
Threshold Levell: 8-12 (depending on your hearing)
Threshold Pitch: 1
Tone Break: T1=4, T2=20, T3=26, T4=34

Bullseye 2
Operating Mode: Field 1
Ground Balance (Ground Balance): 0
Discrimination (All-Metal) (Horseshoe): On
Frequency: Multi
Volume Adjustment (Volume): 20+ (depending on your hearing)
Tone Adjustment (Tone Volume): T1=0, T2=25, T3=15, T4=15, T5=8
Sensitivity (Sensitivity): 22+/- (depending on your environment)
Recovery Speed: 1-4
Iron Bias: 0-4+ (depending on your environment and the presence of iron)
Target Tone Response: 5
Tone Pitch: T1=25, T2=4, T3=6, T4=8, T5=15
Threshold Level: 8-12 (depending on your hearing)
Threshold Pitch: 1
Tone Break: T1=4, T2=20, T3=26, T4=34